Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4) - Leia Stone Page 0,74

watched them with wide eyes.

“Who? Where?” the others asked, looking around in fear.

“They’re … ninja spirits!” the blood mage holding the crystal breathed.

The other blood mages scowled at their friend. “I thought you were serious.”

“I AM! There’s a dozen ninja ghosts in this kitchen!” she shrieked.

Time to scram.

In the ensuing panic, I darted away from the kitchen to a different part of the castle with Zia by my side and our lone Than floating along in our wake.

Those blood mages in the kitchen were not the blood mages in charge. These weren’t the decision-makers. I needed to find Kalama or her mother. Preferably both.

Wherever they were … that’s where I’d find information that would help Rage and the rest of us make a good plan to take back the island.

Zia and I raced up the stairs with a few Thans floating up behind us as we headed toward the conference room that Reyna had shown me on the tour of the castle. I peeked out of a window in the foyer and saw over fifty more blood mages out in the gardens behind our home and even more out in the quad.

There were way more than I’d anticipated. Hundreds for sure.

We hovered at a halt when we spotted two blood mages standing outside the door to the conference room. Neither one of them looked at us, so we proceeded to the door and drifted right through.

Four blood mages sat at a large table, Kalama at the head with two additional mages, one sitting on either side of her. Next to one of the mages sat Kian, grinning like a lion over his kill.

That bastard—seeing him now, I just wanted to kill him right where he sat, but instead, my gaze went to the far end of the table where an old, old female blood mage sat, nodding off.

Was this their queen?

Her hair was white, and her skin so pale it was practically translucent. She wore a muumuu, a bright, colorful tent-like dress with hibiscus flowers on it. She looked like a nice grandma—except for the creepy tattoos. This woman looked like she wouldn’t hurt a fly, never mind drain a person of their blood.

“The young are asking for fresh blood,” the male mage who sat between Kalama and Kian said. “And there are many more who have yet to drink their fill.”

“Old man, you promised more—both here and on Shifter Island,” a female mage said, glaring at Kian.

He blanched, and his gaze jumped to Kalama, but my previous boss kept her attention on the female blood mage that sat near Kian as if waiting to see what more she’d do.

“You lied,” she snarled, rising out of her chair and leaning toward the now trembling high master of water. The female blood mage turned to Kalama. “Let me have him and—”

“No!” Kalama snapped, slamming her hand on the table. “The water mage is not for you, Cara. You’ve been warned.”

Kian swallowed hard.

That’s right, asshat. You climbed into bed with bloodsuckers.

The female dropped her chin to her chest and looked away. “Of course not. I beg your pardon, Princess.”

“I couldn’t have predicted how it would have played out,” Kian said, appealing to Kalama. “We still have a dozen lower mages left … maybe more.”

“No,” Kalama said, giving Kian a flat look. “We have two.”

Kian sat back in his seat as if she’d slapped him.

“Reese,” Kalama said, turning her attention to the male mage beside her while grandma snoozed away in her muumuu. “What’s our timeline?”

“We’ll have to move up our plans to attack the mainland,” the blood mage on Kalama’s right said. “We have a week to plan the best attack approach—at most. But we’ll have to send hunters out tonight or we’ll have hunger riots.” His hair was cut short in the back, but the front was long and hung down into his face, brushing his high cheekbones.

With her lip curled in disdain, Kalama stared down the other female blood mage. “Cara, you’ll lead the first charge on Mageville in three days. I want at least two hundred blood donors so everyone can be at full power.”

I froze, turning to look at Zia with wide eyes. She winced and then shook her head.

Then Kalama turned toward the male on her right. “Reece, I need you to secure the portal to the human realm. If the mages or shifters flee to the mortal realm, we’ll have a hellish time trying to hunt them down. Once that portal is destroyed, we’ll have all